


It Could Be Worse

by Shujinkakusama



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Drabble, F/F, Fluff, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 16:18:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6617551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shujinkakusama/pseuds/Shujinkakusama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teeny oneshot for the prompt "It could be worse!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	It Could Be Worse

They were trapped. Again.

 

If Pearl had the predilection to curse, she might have. Exhausted and battered from fighting far more Gem beasts than expected, she and Garnet had walked right into it; ant beasts gave way to an ant _lion_ beast, and they’d fallen right into its sand trap.

 

“It could be worse,” Garnet said, half buried in sand at the bottommost chamber. Pearl disagreed; Garnet was more than a head taller than she was, and the sand came up to her armpits.

 

“If you mean Steven could have fallen in, maybe…” Pearl sighed, struggling vainly to find purchase above the sand. Gems sank, it seemed, and she wondered if the ant lion had magic of its own. Garnet reached for her, and Pearl gave her arms without question. The Fusion yanked her up above the sand line, and Pearl instinctively gripped her shoulders; Garnet’s hands found her thighs, and she held her close, mostly above the fine grit sand.

 

Pearl flushed; for whatever reason, she hadn’t expected to end up in a position like _this_. Too close to her face, Garnet grinned.

 

“See? Not so bad,” she teased, and Pearl’s blush must have exploded all over her face. She was thankful for the darkness, but knew that Garnet could probably see—at least a little. With her enhanced senses, and Pearl’s bad luck, it was practically inevitable.

 

Garnet spared her some embarrassment, leaning back just slightly to give Pearl breathing room. She stared up at the entrance, where sand still trickled downward. It was high enough to reach at a stretch, but she suspected that the walls were too unstable to really climb.

 

Something tickled at the back of her senses, and Garnet frowned. The ant lion was sure to realize that its trap had been triggered, and there was very little room to fight down here. “I think we’re outclassed,” Garnet said at length, earning a startled look from Pearl in the near-darkness. The Fusion faced her, a hand sliding up to her lower back to secure the dancer more firmly against her. “There’s no room in here, and that ant lion is going to make short work of those other Gem beasts. We’re next.”

 

Pearl paled considerably, clutching Garnet’s shoulders more tightly. “What do we do?” she asked, eyes wide. “My spear’s useless. And you can’t very well fight holding me like this…”

 

The answer was obvious, but Garnet took great amusement from Pearl not seeing it. They Fused so rarely—especially now—that she wondered whether Pearl genuinely forgot it was an option.

 

“Think Sardonyx could handle this?” Garnet asked lightly, and Pearl gasped.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

The Fusion nodded, leaning in close. “I think she’s our best bet,” she whispered, so close to Pearl’s lips that the smaller Gem shivered in anticipation. “C’mon Pearl… Let’s Fuse.”

 

Pearl didn’t answer—not verbally—but her Gem immediately flickered to life as she leaned in to close the distance between them.

 

A kiss was like dancing, anyway.


End file.
